A little bit of fire-cat

If you're interested in a spicy sauce (a little on the hot side) that can be used as more of a sauce rather than a condiment, I highly recommend Tiger Sauce. An interesting name but it really does have a kick. The best part about it is that its on the lighter side, consistency-wise. Unlike many other hot sauces, it's very liquidy which helps it spread more over food. A good option that I recommend is to use it as a salad dressing. A little goes a long way and really adds a lot of flavor. It's great to 'spice-up' a plain salad and also healthy for your metabolism. It's darker in color due to the peppers it uses, but its consistency is that similar to a sauce. You can find it in pretty much every regular supermarket so it should be pretty easy to get.

Mexico's greatest gift

The best thing ever to come out of our neighbor to the south is the jalapeno. It's a wonderful little touch to spice up most any dish. However, amongst jalapenos there is a wide range of spiciness and taste. Unlike some of their other counterparts (like the habanero), this vegetable isn't always guaranteed to be fiery. There are a couple things you need to watch out for. First, watch out for color. If there's any red in it, it's past its prime and was picked too late. Second (and probably most important), look at the tip. The pointer the jalapeno, the spicier it is. This typically comes from starving the jalapeno plant of water. Too much water and the spiciness is exactly that...watered down. Third, people often mistake the spiciness as coming from the seeds. WRONG. The heat actually comes from the veins. The seeds just appear spicy because they're found growing in the veins. Hopefully this has helped you out for your next trip to the grocery store.

In addition, my little tip would be to get a few jalapenos and puree them. Add them into your freshly made (and home-made at that) Bloody Mary mix for even more spice.

An Asian condiment of choice

So far I’ve recommended some bottles of hot sauce which may not have been the easiest to find and in truth aren’t really a staple at your neighborhood grocery store. I figured I’d recommend next something that you should be able to find a lot easier and if you enjoy any sort of taste (with a kick) you should always have a bottle in your cupboard. “Sriracha” is an Asian spice sauce which can quickly spice up quite a few dishes. I use it pretty much as a replacement for ketchup (why not, it’s similar in consistency and in appearance). Plus it’s a very affordable substitute and is usually found in the supermarket, although sometimes in the ethnic food aisle. My little secret treat is that I love to put it on meatloaf (it really adds a new taste and a different sort of twist).